Heartless Brits abandon their dogs in Spain

Galgo News is chiefly about the plight of the galgos and podencos, in Spain and the Spanish Islands. However, being a Libran, I am not averse to speaking out about the heartless Brits who are leaving Spain and their dogs behind – and there are some in France who do the same.

Linda, from Los Infiernos shelter in Murcia, explains.

‘I help at the same refuge as Tina, who has been appealing for help to rehome the galgos abandoned by the hunters. The Brits don’t bring their dogs to our refuge at the moment; the dogs are found abandoned and then brought to us by the police. I will tell you a few of the cases I have encountered.

In our refuge we have had 2 German Shepherds who were found hanging from a balcony. They had been abandoned at the house, left on a long lead and perhaps tried to jump over. Luckily someone saw them and called the police; they are not microchipped but they obey English commands. One has been adopted, the other is still with us; he growls every time his collar and lead are put on, or if you go to stroke his head, but never bites.

We have a beautiful white boxer left tied up in his garden, again by Brits. We have a crossbreed called Max whose owners came to get him. However, he is not microchipped, so the refuge is not allowed to let the dog go if it has not been chipped, as it is against the law. The British owners would not pay to have him chipped and just said ‘you will have to keep him then’.

I must also tell you that a few months ago a dog was left tied to a fence with a note saying ‘my name is Layla, I am 4 yrs old, please take care of me’. Because I am involved with dogs at the shelter, the lady who found her brought her to me. Eventually, thanks another refuge, we found her a foster home.

A few weeks ago someone ask me if I could find a home for 2 large dogs, the lady had separated from her husband and he was living in the house with no water or electric, until he could get the dogs’ passports to take them back to England. At the moment he has a job in the UK and is paying for them to be looked after.

Another day a lady ask me if I could help her as her neighbour had asked her to take care of his dog as he had to go to the UK for a week. She did, and he never came back.

I could write of these sort of cases all day, we all get so upset about it. At the moment we are all working so hard to fund raise to take care of the dogs, especially Yvonne and Barbra, and Tina is trying to get the dogs adopted via the Internet. Then there are all the dog walkers and a Spanish girl who is a paid worker but does far more than she is paid for and, of course, Antonio and Carman who own the perrera They are very good people who are on call 24hrs a day and struggle to earn a living. Everything goes on caring for the dogs.’

I’m sure the stories Linda tells are some of hundreds all over Spain and the Spanish islands, now some Brits are heading back to the UK, as a result of the poor £/euro exchange rate.

For myself, my dogs are all microchipped, vaccinations up to date and castrated and, should we ever have to return to the UK, the dogs and horses have their passports ready. It’s been an expensive exercise, but our dogs are with us for life, their lifetime.